London Breed critiques San Francisco’s masks mandate, ‘enjoyable police’ after nightclub journey

San Francisco Mayoress, London Breed, was caught in a clear breach of her city’s strict indoor mask mandate while visiting the Black Cat in the Tenderloin last Thursday and again defended her actions when she spoke to reporters on Friday.

As currently written, the city’s health ordinance, which applies to vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals alike, only allows masks to be removed “while actively eating or drinking”. It says: “People are urgently asked to stand at a table or at a stationary counter or seat while eating or drinking.”

A video shows a maskless race – neither positioned at a table nor at a stationary counter – standing and dancing in the nightclub without food or drinks in hand. She also posed for photos without a mask and defended her approach with the words: “Ultimately, everyone who comes in here has to present a vaccination card. That gives me a lot of security. “

The city’s mask mandate includes no exception for businesses that require proof of vaccination to enter, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health has not offered a schedule for when the mask mandate can be softened, even if there are COVID-19 cases and hospital stays in the city City present rapidly decrease.

When Breed was asked by reporters about the violation on Friday, she again used the vaccination system. “It’s sad that this is a story at all,” she said.

The mayor of San Francisco defended herself against wearing a mask while partying, saying she “got up and started dancing because I felt the ghost and didn’t think of a mask.” pic.twitter.com/WDzLiBN5JZ

– The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) September 20, 2021

“From my point of view, I was there, I ate and drank, and I sat with my friends and everyone who came in there was vaccinated,” said Breed. “The fact that we turned it into a maskless story, no: I’m not going to slurp and put on my mask, slurp and put on my mask, slurp and put on mask, eat and put on my mask. While I eat and drink , I’ll keep my mask on. And yes, while we were drinking, like everyone else there, we always had a lot of fun, all vaccinated. “

To be clear, this is a story because Breed’s views contradict the city’s written masking mandate, which requires all persons, vaccinated or not, to remove masks only indoors while “actively eating or drinking”.

She went on to say that it was “not realistic” for individuals to wear masks between swallows and bites, and cited vaccination again when explaining why she did not wear a mask when taking photos with people at the nightclub.

“If I took a picture, as I definitely do or do an interview, yes, I take my mask off when I take a picture,” she said. “I am vaccinated. I don’t have to wear a mask every time to take a picture. I do not want.”

The city’s currently written mask mandate would not allow masks to be removed when taking photos indoors, regardless of whether a person is vaccinated or “doesn’t want to”. The mayor’s office has not responded to several SFGATE requests for comment on whether Breed is asking the city’s health authorities to soften the mandate.

“The message I want to get across is: support our nightclubs, support our restaurants, go out and have fun,” she said. “Make sure you are vaccinated because of the restrictions, but don’t feel like you are micromanaged when wearing masks. We don’t need the funny police to come in and tell us what to or shouldn’t do. We know what to do to protect ourselves. “

SFGATE also reached out to the San Francisco Department of Public Health and asked if any future changes to the mask mandate were foreseeable.

“Our intention is to encourage people to do their best to understand that each circumstance is unique,” the department said in a statement. “We are primarily focused on providing information about how people can best protect themselves and others, and we continue to work with customers and companies to ensure compliance. We will make adjustments based on science and data as needed and maintain a regional approach to COVID-19 containment strategies where possible. “